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One of the things that I like about the fall is that I always seem to have some leftover squash or squash puree around. It is really easy to use this leftover squash to cook up some quick and tasty meals. One way of using squash that I never seem to tire or is with pasta. In addition to having some leftover squash I had some extra Italian sausage and I thought that a pasta with tender sweet squash cubes and crumbled spicy Italian sausage would be nice. The squash and sage combo is so good that I did not even think about not adding the sage. I could not resist adding some greens and my current favorite is Swiss chard so I added some of that. Now that I had a nicely rounded pasta dish all that was left was to cook it. Normally I would roast the butternut squash cubes but this time I decided that it would be easier to just simmer them with the sauce until they were nice and tender. This pasta dish came together quite easily and quickly. The butternut squash, Italian sausage and sage pasta turned out great and best of all there was enough leftovers for lunches during the week. The sweetness of the squash went well with the heat of the sausage and the creaminess of the sauce and cheese balanced everything out nicely. While I was eating the pasta I was thinking that next time it would be nice to use turkey sausage and if I did, I could make it more of a holiday pasta by adding some dried cranberries.

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and sage and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the sausage and saute until cooked, about 5 minutes.
5. Add the wine and deglaze the pan.
6. Add the chicken stock, squash and and chard simmer until the squash is tender, about 10 minutes.
7. Cook your pasta.
8. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce along with a splash of heavy cream and remove from heat.
9. Plate and garnish with parmigiano reggiano.

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comments:

Kev,I made this exact recipe minus the heavy cream!Wow, you and I are on the same blog wave.....artichoke dip.great minds think alike!Are you making meatloaf anytime soon? I made mine last night.Stacey

And if you don't have leftover squash lying around, try substituting big chunks of red bell pepper. Also delicious. One thing I love about pasta dishes like this one [besides it being tasty as all get out, I mean] is that they are infinitely adaptable to different ingredients. You've got me thinking now about what I have at home that could become a supper like this tonight!

This sounds really, really good! I love butternut squash and recently realized how great sage tastes in dishes besides stuffing on Thanksgiving. I feel like sage is one herb that is really worth the little extra effort to buy fresh rather than dried.

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About Me

I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.